Now that the trade deadline has passed and most of the notable players available after buy-outs have found new homes, the NBA dust is settling. The teams in the Association, baring injuries, are now who they will be come playoff time. Now, it’s about jockeying for position and getting all your players healthy. Now, in other words, the fun begins! Things will start to heat up now with more and more games taking on that playoff feeling. Week 14 was the start of that, but expect more of that from now until the Larry OB is hoisted.
Interestingly, this week saw no movement in the top three, or bottom four spots. The only movement was in the middle of the pack. Two contenders are moving up, The Denver Nuggets and Portland Trailblazers, while Western Conference powerhouse franchises are sliding down. Those would be the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Week 12 – Biggest Movers
The Portland Trailblazers made the biggest move this week thanks to a 3-1 week. One of those wins was against the Miami Heat in Miami. Last season the Blazers limped into the 8th spot, well they actually played into the 8th spot. Many thought they were the best 8th seed in the history of the Association. They may very well of been, but the Lakers sent them home regardless. This season it seems likely they will earn a playoff spot; no play in game required. The question for the Blazers remains, are they good enough as presently constructed to win it all? They are no doubt a talented group of players, led by a front runner for MVP in Damian Lillard, but do they have the horsepower to be the last team standing? Who knows, but this week they were the big winner!
 | Portland Trailblazers | +3 |
Week 12 – Biggest Droppers
The San Antonio Spurs had a forgettable 1-3 week. They lost LaMarcus Aldridge and games to the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers (twice). They ended the week with a win over the Chicago Bulls, which was nice, but not enough to keep them from dropping two spots. The Spurs are so good that even when they are bad, they still manage to stay above water. They seem to be stuck in this mid-tier spot right now which is tough to rebound from. When you are bad, you are rewarded with higher draft picks. When you are good, you win. The challenge is that when you are just good enough to be in the middle of the pack, well, then you have obstacles. You don’t win enough and you don’t get any high draft picks. I’m sure they Spurs will figure it out, but things are looking less than ideal right now.
 | San Antonio Spurs | -2 |
Week 14 Western Conference Power Rankings
The Strength of Schedule Western Conference Power Rankings are a points based ranking method developed by thePeachBasket. In short, points are awarded for wins and losses. The better the team you beat, the more points you earn. It’s simple and takes the opinion out of Power Rankings. It’s math and its brought to you by thePeachBasket, Voice of the Fan!(tm)
